Manning earns promotion to Double-A Erie

Matt Manning has already taken plenty of positive steps in his first full professional season. He'll take one more before the campaign ends.
The third-ranked Tigers prospect has been promoted from Class A Advanced Lakeland to Double-A Erie, the club announced late Friday night.

Manning, who represented the Tigers at the Futures Game in Washington, D.C., has been one of the organization's breakout arms. MLB.com's No. 57 overall prospect started the year with Class A West Michigan, where he was 3-3 with a 3.40 ERA and 1.35 WHIP across 11 starts. 
On June 28, he earned his first promotion of the year when he was elevated to the Florida State League. Unfazed by the higher level, Manning recorded better marks with a 2.98 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over 51 1/3 innings in nine starts for Lakeland. The right-hander held opponents to a .176 average, fanned 65 and walked 19 -- an improvement over the 28 free passes he issued in the Midwest League. 
Wielding a 65-grade fastball and a powerful curveball, Manning has totaled 141 total strikeouts across the two levels, which ranks 27th among Minor Leaguers. 

Through five starts in August, the 2016 first-round pick has a 3.14 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 28 2/3 frames. He's already reached 107 innings this season, more than the combined total of his first two seasons with the Tigers. 
In another move, right-hander Spencer Turnbull was bumped from Erie to Triple-A Toledo to earn his first crack at the International League. In 19 Eastern League starts, the 2014 second-round pick was 4-7 with a 4.47 ERA.